Lesson Plan Template
Lesson Plan Template
Grade/Content Area
10th grade - English Language Arts
Lesson Title
State Standards:
GLEs/GSEs
NCTE
Context of the Lesson
Opportunities to Learn
Literary Nostalgia - Connecting themes across texts
GSE(s): Reading 10-4.2, 10-4.5, 10-8.1
Writing 10-3.2, 10-3.3
Oral Communication: 10-1.1, 10-1.2, 10-1.3, 10-1.4
NCTE: 1, 3, 5, 11, 12
Students have read up to page 185 in Padma Venkatraman’s novel, Climbing the
Stairs. In class, the students have been discussing character and theme.
Discussion has also included the importance of the library and the significant
role books play in Vidya’s life.
Students are provided with a graphic organizer (Support for Idea) to aid in
organizing and synthesizing information as well as providing them with a handson strategy for analyzing literature. The teacher will state directions orally and
demonstrate visually is necessary.
The lesson incorporates opportunities to learn in all modalities. Visually,
students are reading the texts and worksheets. Aurally, the students are
discussing information in groups and as a whole class. Kinesthetically, the
students are writing on their worksheets and in their journals.
The lesson also addresses Gardener’s Multiple Intelligences, including linguistic
(writing a constructed response and a journal response), interpersonal (working
in groups), and intrapersonal (making personal connections between the word
nostalgia and their own lives).
Environment factors:
Students will be working independently and in groups of 4 (self-selected). For
this reason, ample space and an organized classroom set-up [i.e. the desks have
been already placed in groups] are necessary to ensure a productive use of time.
Materials:
 Lamont, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New
York: Anchor Books, 1995. 15.
 LINK Brainstorming Activity
Adapted from Buehl, Doug. “Brainstorming Prior Knowledge.”
Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning. Delaware: International
Reading Association, 2001. 31.
 Oreo Cookie Constructed Response Handout & Rubric
Adapted from Nardone, J. “The Hamburger Paragraph.” Rhode Island:
Narragansett High School, 2008.
 Support for Idea Graphic Organizer
 The United Themes of Literature Essay directions and rubric
 Venkatraman, Padma. Climbing the Stairs. New York: Penguin Groups,
2008.
 Wordsworth, William. “I wandered lonely as a cloud.” The Norton
Bethany Lisi
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Lesson Plan Template
Anthology of English Literature. Volume 2. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New
York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006. 305.
Objectives
 In writing a constructed response, students will interpret Henry
Wordsworth’s poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, and connect its theme to
Climbing the Stairs, using a strong topic sentence, three points of evidence,
and a conclusive statement with few mechanical errors.
 In writing a formal essay, students will select a theme from the text of their
choice (i.e. music lyrics, another piece of literature, or a piece of fine art) and
relate it to a theme in Climbing the Stairs, demonstrating proficiency in all
areas of The United Themes of Literature rubric.
Instructional
Procedures
Opening:
1. The students will engage in the brainstorming activity LINK (list,
inquire, note, know) to activate prior knowledge on the word nostalgia.
The teacher will begin by writing the word nostalgia on the overhead
and providing the definition: “A feeling of happiness, sadness, and
longing when recalling a person, place, or event from the past.”
Let’s look at this word nostalgia and read its definition. By yourselves
on a blank sheet of paper, I want you to take some time and list
associations or other words that you feel connect or relate to the word
nostalgia. They can pertain to your own lives, your families, friends, or
feelings. If you want to give specific examples or events, that’s fine too.
2. Students are given three minutes to complete lists. The teacher will ask
for associations and write around the focus word on the overhead. The
teacher will prompt the less-active students to offer terms first to ensure
everyone participates. Only one term per student is accepted.
3. The teacher will encourage the students to inquire about the offered
terms.
Ok class, let’s look at all the terms we came up with. Do some of them
stand out to you? Are there any that need some elaboration or
clarification?
Teacher directs student inquirers to ask their questions directly to the
student who offered the term. Class demonstrates respect for terms
offered.
4. The teacher will turn off overhead and instruct students to flip over their
papers and note what they’ve learned about the word.
You are going to write down what you’ve learned about the word
nostalgia from our class discussion today. This can be a combination of
what you already knew or associated with the word nostalgia, and what
you learned in our discussion. Let’s also write a prediction: How could
the word nostalgia connect to the book, Climbing the Stairs?
Students are given a few minutes to complete this task.
Engagement:
5. The teacher will ask students to take out their book, Climbing the Stairs
by Padma Venkatraman and begin a discussion recapping what they’ve
conferred about in past classes.
What have we been discussing with regards to Vidya and the library?
Why does she treasure that time so much? What do the books allow
Vidya to do? Escape? Do they give her comfort?
Bethany Lisi
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Lesson Plan Template
6. The teacher allows for students to discuss and recall before directing
them to a particular passage.
Let’s turn to the bottom of page 107. “Within minutes, I had discovered
Wordsworth and journeyed with him to hills and valleys in the British
Isles. By the time I returned downstairs, I knew a verse from a poem by
heart, “I wandered lonely as a cloud/that floats on high o’er vales and
hills/when all at once I saw a crowd,/a host of golden daffodils.”
Does anyone know this poem? It says the author is from the British Isles
– do you think this is important considering what we know of England
and India’s relationship? This poem was written by William Wordsworth
in 1804. How many years apart was this poem written and the time
period in which Vidya lives? About 136 or so years, right? Wow! What
could this poem and Vidya’s life have in common? Why would the
author mention this poem specifically in this novel?
7. The teacher will pass out copies of the poem to students and provide
them with guiding questions before reading.
While we’re reading this poem, let’s think about why Vidya would be
reading this. What connection would the theme of this poem have with
Vidya’s life?
8. The teacher will read the title out loud to the class and activate student
predictions with class discussion.
The poem is called, “I wandered lonely as a cloud.” What tone do you
think the narrator will take here? Do you predict this poem to be happy?
What is the narrator comparing himself to – what is the simile?
9. The teacher will read the first stanza out loud and begin asking
comprehension questions to the class.
What is the plot of the poem so far? What is going on here? The
narrator sees daffodils by a lake, dancing in the breeze. Does he see a
few daffodils? No! Tell me how you figured that out. He sees a host, a
crowd of daffodils. How does this sight contrast with his “lonely cloud”
feeling?
10. The teacher or student volunteer will read the second stanza. The teacher
continues to ask comprehension questions.
What is the narrator comparing daffodils to? Why would he bring up
stars? It’s like counting grains of sand – counting the stars in the sky.
It’s so vast. He seems to be playing up the number of daffodils by
comparing them to the stars. What words does he use to exaggerate the
number of daffodils? Never-ending, continuous, ten thousand. What is
the figurative language term we use for an exaggeration? Hyperbole!
11. The teacher or student volunteer will read the third stanza. The teacher
continues to ask comprehension questions.
How do you think the narrator is feeling after this stanza? Content?
Happy? Where does it say this – point it out in the text. Let’s read the
last two lines again. “I gazed – and gazed – but little thought/What
wealth the show to me had brought (ll 17-18). What is he saying here?
Did he enjoy this beautiful sight while he was experiencing it? Let’s read
on.
12. The teacher or student volunteer will read the final stanza. The teacher
continues to ask comprehension questions.
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Lesson Plan Template
What do you think is our “inward eye?” Our memory. So, could we say
the poet is describing this scene to us from his memory and not as it’s
happening right now? Where does it say this in the text? It says, “On my
couch I lie” (l. 19) – he is not in the field right then. He’s reminiscing.
The memory of the daffodils brings nostalgia to the narrator – of a
beautiful, happy time that he longs to see again.
13. The teacher will instruct students to write a potential theme for this
poem quietly in their notebooks. After a few minutes, volunteers are
asked to write their themes on the board. As a class, a common theme is
agreed upon by discussing and combining student responses.
We could say that a possible theme of the poem is, “Moving events can
bring nostalgia when they are taken for granted during the time they
occurred.” If this is one possible theme, why do you think Vidya could
relate to this poem? What examples, from the text, could you use to
support your thoughts?
14. Students work in groups to find textual support for their theories and fill
out the graphic organizer, “Support for my Idea,” which the teacher has
passed out. Teacher walks around to groups and observes, adding
guiding support if needed.
15. After about 7-10 minutes, the teacher brings the class back together asks
for student suggestions and textual evidence.
Why do you think I asked you to give me support from the text? Why is it
good to have evidence? Does it make your theory more credible?
16. The teacher will pass out Constructed Response handouts and review the
guidelines for making an “Oreo Cookie Paragraph.”
You are now going to write a constructed response to the prompt: “What
theme does the poem, “I wandered lonely as a cloud,” by William
Wordsworth and the novel, Climbing the Stairs, by Padma Venkatraman
have in common?
With a constructed response, remember you want to think of it as the
“Oreo Cookie Paragraph.” What do I mean by that? You need your top
cookie – your topic sentence. What does the topic sentence do? It gives
the reader an idea of what the paragraph is going to be about.
Then you need your cream – good stuff, which is your evidence. Now, if
we’re trying to find a common theme between two pieces of work, would
all our evidence come from one source? No – you want to give evidence
from both pieces of work. What’s the magic number for pieces of
evidence? Three – but of course, if you can find more to support your
topic sentence, it is always a plus.
What else do we need to complete our Oreo Cookie? The bottom cookie!
This is your conclusion sentence. Is this sentence a rewording of the
topic sentence? No! It should be a new and interesting sentence that
wraps the whole paragraph together in a nice little cookie.
17. Students work independently to complete constructed response, which is
collected for an informal assessment.
Closure:
18. The teacher will instruct students to journal write on the following
prompt, encouraging metacognition and a discussion of what they’ve
Bethany Lisi
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Lesson Plan Template
learned in class.
“For some of us, books are important as almost anything else on earth.
What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper
unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort
and quiet or excite you.”
–Anne Lamott
Prompt: Reflecting upon what we discussed and learned in class today,
what conclusions could you draw about the importance of literature in
life and the role it plays in connecting cultures?
*Hint: Think about the fact that Climbing the Stairs and “I wandered
lonely as a cloud,” were written more than a hundred of years apart
and in different countries and yet, they share a common theme.
19. The teacher will assign homework and explain the next assessment,
which is a formal essay to be written over the course of the week.
There are many themes found in Climbing the Stairs besides this one we
wrote about today, right? What other themes have we found? [Students
offer suggestions.] Your assignment is to choose another text that shares
a common theme with Climbing the Stairs. Now, this text could be
another piece of literature, music lyrics, or a piece of art.
You are going to write a formal essay, which means a few “Oreo Cookie
paragraphs,” explaining this common theme in the form of a thesis
statement, and then giving textual support for your idea from both texts.
We will be working on thesis statements and this essay over the next
couple of classes. For tonight, start thinking about the different themes
in Climbing the Stairs and where you might find these themes in other
texts.
Assessment
1. Collect Constructed Response paragraphs and informally assess
students’ abilities to use critical thinking to synthesize information and
organize it into a clear, cohesive paragraph.
2. Collect formal essays on a common theme and formally assess students’
proficiency using The United Themes of Literature rubric.
Reflections
Student Work Sample 1 – Approaching Proficiency:
Student Work Sample 2 – Proficient:
Student Work Sample 3 – Exceeds Proficiency:
Lesson Implementation:
Bethany Lisi
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Lesson Plan Template
“I wandered lonely as a cloud”
By William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
10
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
20
1804.
Bethany Lisi
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Lesson Plan Template
Constructed Responses (or the Oreo Cookie Paragraph) in Literature
Paragraph Construction
First sentence = Top of the Cookie = Controlling Idea
Always ask:
 Did I answer the question?
 Does the sentence relate to the question?
 Does my topic sentence take a position on the question?
 Can I prove the position I took?
Next 1-16 Sentences = The Cream of the Cookie = Proof, Support, Details
Always ask:
 Did I use several references to the text to prove my topic sentence?
 Did I prove, with my evidence, the position I took in my topic
sentence?
 Did I explain/elaborate on the evidence in my own words?
Last 1 or 2 sentences = Bottom of the Cookie = Conclusion
Always ask:
 Did I provide a sense of closure to the paragraph?
 Did I include what I learned? The A-HA!?
Adapted from Narragansett High School English Departments’ “Hamburger Paragraph” - J. Nardone
September 2008
Bethany Lisi
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Lesson Plan Template
Constructed Responses (or the Oreo Cookie Paragraph) in Literature
Topic Sentence
Body
Conclusion
Conventions
Exceeds
Meets
Below
The topic sentence clearly
and effectively answers
the question.
The topic sentence clearly
answers the question.
The topic sentence does
not answer the question
and/or is not related to the
question.
The topic sentence
expresses a clearly
articulated position that
can be supported.
Content is always clear,
concise, relevant, and
accurate. A logical
progression of ideas and
supporting information
uses text references to
prove the topic sentence.
The topic sentence
expresses an articulated
position that can be
supported.
Content is clear, concise,
relevant, and accurate. A
logical progression of
ideas and supporting
information uses text
references to prove the
topic sentence.
The position taken in the
topic sentence is
supported convincingly by
specific and ample
references to the text.
The position taken in the
topic sentence is
supported with specific
references to the text.
The conclusion effectively
brings closure to the
paragraph.
Very few mechanical
errors are present. They in
no way detract from the
overall effectiveness of the
writing.
The conclusion clearly
brings closure to the
paragraph.
Few mechanical errors are
present. They may detract
slightly from the overall
effectiveness of the
writing.
The topic sentence is not
clearly articulated or it
cannot be supported.
Content may not be clear,
concise, relevant, and/or
accurate. Content may not
have a logical progression
of ideas and supporting
information. The content
does not use or
inadequately uses text
references to prove the
topic sentence.
The position taken in the
topic sentence is not
proven with references to
text or the references are
unclear.
The conclusion does not
bring closure to the
paragraph.
Mechanical errors are
present and may detract
from the effectiveness of
the writing.
Adapted from Narragansett High School English Departments’ “Hamburger Paragraph” - J. Nardone
September 2008
Bethany Lisi
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Lesson Plan Template
NAME: _____________________________________________
Support for My Idea
Book Name::_________________________________________________________
Possible Theme:
Possible Theme:
Supporting Facts
Possible Theme:
Supporting Facts
Supporting Facts
1.
1.
1.
2.
2.
2.
3.
3.
3.
4.
4.
4.
Bethany Lisi
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Lesson Plan Template
The United Themes of Literature Essay
Literature: (n) written works with artistic value, e.g. fiction, poetry, and drama; or a body of musical
compositions or song lyrics; or printed matter such as brochures or flyers that give
information. For this particular essay, however, literature may also include pieces of fine
art.
The Objective: To write a thoughtful, analytical essay identifying a common theme found in Climbing the Stairs
and the text of your choice (i.e. another piece of written literature, music lyrics, or a piece of
fine art).
The Process:
1. Begin by thinking of themes found in Climbing the Stairs and create a brainstorming list. Pick one theme
that you find particularly interesting and begin searching for it in other texts.
2. When you find a promising text, look for at least three examples/pieces of evidence that this text displays
the same theme as the one you chose from Climbing the Stairs.
3. Begin drafting an outline of your essay by creating your thesis statement first. Your pieces of evidence
must support your thesis statement. From there, create your “Oreo Cookie paragraphs” containing your
support. Finish your draft by writing introduction and conclusion paragraphs. Remember – the first attempt
at writing is a draft! This means you should rework your writing a few times before you hand in a polished
piece. Try to be creative in your introduction and conclusion. Hook me into your paper and leave me
satisfied and excited!
The Format: Your essay should be 4-5 pages in length, 1” margins, 12-point type, Times New Roman, doublespaced. This assignment is due __________________________.
The Product: An analytical essay that proficiently demonstrates a clear focus, relevant support, and logical
organization. For a complete list of components, please see the attached rubric.
Bethany Lisi
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Lesson Plan Template
The United Themes of Literature Essay
Student Name:
________________________________________
CATEGORY
Focus on Topic
(Content)
Support for Topic
(Content/Body)
Exceeds
Meets - Proficient
There is one clear, wellMain idea is clear but the
focused topic. Main idea
supporting information is
stands out and is supported by general.
detailed information.
The thesis statement expresses
The thesis statement expresses an articulated position that can
a clearly articulated position
be supported.
that can be supported.
Below
The main idea is not clear. There
is a seemingly random collection
of information.
Content is always clear,
concise, relevant, and
accurate. A logical
progression of ideas and
supporting information uses
text references to prove the
topic sentence.
Content may not be clear,
concise, relevant, and/or
accurate. Content may not have a
logical progression of ideas and
supporting information. The
content does not use or
inadequately uses text references
to prove the topic sentence.
Content is clear, concise,
relevant, and accurate. A logical
progression of ideas and
supporting information uses text
references to prove the topic
sentence.
The position taken in the topic
The position taken in the topic sentence is supported with
sentence is supported
specific references to the text.
convincingly by specific and
ample references to the text
The position taken in the topic
sentence is not proven with
references to text or the
references are unclear.
The introduction clearly states
the main topic and previews the
structure of the paper, but is not
particularly inviting to the
reader.
Details are placed in a logical Details are placed in a logical
order and the way they are
order, but the way in which they
presented effectively keeps the are presented/introduced
interest of the reader.
sometimes makes the writing
less interesting.
The conclusion is strong and The conclusion is recognizable
leaves the reader with a
and ties up almost all the loose
feeling that they understand
ends.
what the writer is "getting at."
There is no clear introduction of
the main topic or structure of the
paper.
Sources
(Content)
All sources used for quotes
and facts are credible and
cited correctly.
All sources used for quotes and
facts are credible and most are
cited correctly.
Recognition of
Reader (Voice)
The reader's questions are
anticipated and answered
thoroughly and completely.
The reader's questions are
anticipated and answered to
some extent.
Many sources used for quotes
and facts are less than credible
(suspect) and/or are not cited
correctly.
The reader is left with several
questions.
Grammar & Spelling Very few mechanical errors
are present. They in no way
(Conventions)
detract from the overall
effectiveness of the writing.
Few mechanical errors are
present. They may detract
slightly from the overall
effectiveness of the writing.
Introduction
(Organization)
Sequencing
(Organization)
Conclusion
(Organization)
Bethany Lisi
The introduction is inviting,
states the main topic and
previews the structure of the
paper.
The thesis statement is not
clearly articulated or it cannot be
supported.
Many details are not in a logical
or expected order. There is little
sense that the writing is
organized.
The conclusion does not bring
closure to the paragraph.
Mechanical errors are present
and may detract from the
effectiveness of the writing.
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